Joanne Wentzel
Joanne Elizabeth Wentzel (nee Barrington) is a fictional character in the Harpers Falls franchise. She was originated by Erika Slezak, best known for her role of Viki on One Life to Live, becoming more and more recurring, as she took the role of Clarissa Smythe on Smythewood, which she became better known. When the character returned to the sequel show, Harpers Falls: New Beginnings, (and with Erika bringing the role of Clarissa to HF: NB) the role was cast with Marla Adams, best known for her roles on the long-running shows, The Secret Storm and The Young and the Restless. When Marla returned to the Young and the Restless to concentrate on her role of Dina Abbott, the role was de-aged a bit, her story was retrograded, and actress-comedienne, Eleanor Kerrigan, best known for her role of bad attitude biker wrestler, EZ Rider of Women of Wrestling, joined the cast and currently plays the role. The Matriarch of the Wentzels Joan Barrington was one of the belles of society in Syracuse, New York, where she had always lived. Her parents, Arthur and Sybil, were pillars of Syracuse society and they reigned in magisterial splendor from the Wentzel Mansion located near Lodi Street and James Street. She and her sister, Joyce, were star pupils at the exclusive girls school that they attended, and were the most beautiful and popular debutantes at school. Her life had been mapped out for many years, including marriage to a respectable man. She met and married William Wentzel, an industrialist, and with him, bore two children, Allison and Monica. William passed away in 1988 after a heart attack while on a business trip. She mourned him for a time, of course, and she then had to set to work and raise her youngest daughter, Monica. Monica was easy to raise. Allison was already married and moved out of the house. However, Joan was not aware that her older daughter was keeping some very deep secrets from her family, namely that her daughter, Catherine was not her husband's daughter, but the product of a fling. For a number of years, Joan and Monica lived with the Watkins and their family in Watkins Bluff, their estate in Harpers Falls, Massachusetts. All that time, nobody knew of the devastating secrets. It was around that time that Catherine found out that she wasn't Robert's daughter, but the daughter of Matthew Abbott, which made her half-sister to her friend, Camilla Griswold. The family was shocked and angered. Joan and Monica helped Allison pack and moved her back to Syracuse. It was MUCH later when Joan realized that Allison had caused more trouble, when she adopted out her own granddaughter, Jacqueline Haller, without the knowledge or approval of her parents, Catherine and her then-new husband, Nicholas Haller. Upon realizing this, Joan angrily banished Allison to Utica, where she now lives. Monica moved to Boston to get to know Jacqueline, and while Joan maintained the Wentzel mansion, she also has a suite of rooms at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, which allows her to maintain ties with her youngest daughter, her grandson, Allen Watkins and his wife, Sheila; and her great-grandchildren. She also maintains close ties with Victoria Jensen and her brother, Robert, who are not angry with her. Recently, Joan realized that her niece, Anngelique Minzell and her brothers, Jeff Minzell and Jamie Minzell, the children of Joyce, are all in Boston now. Joan is thrilled, and wants to get to know her nieces and nephews. After a few years away, Joan, now called Joanne, returned to Boston. It was revealed that she had been in an accident in Europe, where she was vacationing, and had been in a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she had received a facelift. She now looks years younger, has completely recovered from the accident and is back in her family's life (The facelift and de-aging explains Eleanor Kerrigan being in the role). Upon returning, Joanne sold the Wentzel mansion to the city of Syracuse for the use of the Women's Club as their new headquarters. After all the years she lived there, it was time to make new memories. She moved to Boston for good, and lives in a condo in the Back Bay area. She keeps in touch with Monica and Jacqueline and is a major presence in their lives. As she wrote off Allison, Joanne is free of any ties to the evil woman. Category:Characters Category:Harper family allies Category:Other relatives of the Harper family Category:Minzell/Crawford family Category:Wentzel family